PROFILPELAJAR.COM

"Pet Sounds"
"Pet Sounds"
Instrumental by the Beach Boys
from the album Pet Sounds
Released	May 16, 1966
Recorded	November 17, 1965
Studio	Western, Hollywood
Genre	Exotica
Length	2:38
Label	Capitol
Composer(s)	Brian Wilson
Producer(s)	Brian Wilson
Audio sample
	file; help;

"Pet Sounds" is an instrumental by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. Composed by Brian Wilson, it was originally called "Run James Run", as Wilson intended it to be used as the theme of a James Bond film. It was then titled "Pet Sounds", the title of the album on which it appears. It is the second instrumental to feature on Pet Sounds, the other being "Let's Go Away for Awhile".

Influences

The exotica piece has been compared to the work of Les Baxter and Martin Denny for its reverberated bongos and güiro combined with pervasive horns and a Latin rhythm.^[2] MOJO declared it an "ambiguous, jet-age update of Martin Denny-style 1950s exotica."^[1] In his 2016 memoir, Wilson stated: "I loved Thunderball, which had come out the year before, and I loved listening to composers like Henry Mancini, who did these cool themes for shows like Peter Gunn, and Les Baxter, who did all these big productions that sounded sort of like Phil Spector productions."^[3] When asked if he was a fan of Denny and exotica music in a 2017 phone interview, he responded: "No, I never get the chance to listen to them. Never did."^[4]

Recording

It was performed by Brian and several session musicians, with no other members of the Beach Boys. The session sheet for the recording date carries the notation, "This is a working title only."^[5]

"Pet Sounds" was recorded on November 17, 1965 at United Western Recorders, with Chuck Britz engineering.^[5]^[6] The unique percussion sound heard on the track is drummer Ritchie Frost playing two empty Coca-Cola cans, at Brian's suggestion.^[5] Overdubs included bongos and two guitars filtered through a Leslie speaker.^[7]

The piece was written with the intention of using it in a James Bond film, and was originally titled "Run James Run".^[8]^[2] Wilson wrote and recorded an unrelated song with this same title for his 2015 album No Pier Pressure, but was not released until 2017 for the compilation Playback: The Brian Wilson Anthology.^[9]

Personnel

Per band archivist Craig Slowinski.^[10]

The Beach Boys

Brian Wilson – grand piano

Session musicians

Roy Caton – trumpet
Jerry Cole – electric lead guitar
Ritchie Frost – drums, bongos, Coca-Cola cans with sticks
Bill Green – alto saxophone, guiro
Jim Horn – bass saxophone
Plas Johnson – tenor saxophone, tambourine
Carol Kaye – electric bass
Jay Migliori – baritone saxophone
Lyle Ritz – upright bass
Billy Strange – guitar with Leslie effect
Tommy Tedesco – archtop acoustic rhythm guitar

Cover versions

1992 – Dos Dragsters, Smiles, Vibes & Harmony: A Tribute to Brian Wilson
2000 – Peter Thomas Sound Orchestra, Caroline Now!
2002 – Brooks Williams, Making God Smile
2003 – Tsuyoshi Kawakami, Moodmakers Mood
2005 – The Angry String Orchestra, String Quartet Tribute to Beach Boys' Pet Sounds
2006 – Architecture in Helsinki, Do It Again: A Tribute to Pet Sounds
2012 – Human Don't Be Angry, MOJO Presents Pet Sounds Revisited
2013 – The Duke of Norfolk, Mint 400 Records Presents The Beach Boys Pet Sounds

References

^ ^a ^b Mojo Staff (April 24, 2015). "The Beach Boys' 50 Greatest Songs". MOJO.
^ ^a ^b Lambert, Philip: Inside the Music of Brian Wilson, page 232. Continuum Publishing, 2007.
^ Wilson, Brian; Greenman, Ben (2016). I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir. Da Capo Press. p. 179. ISBN 978-0-306-82307-7.
^ Long, Kyle (April 20, 2017). "Brian Wilson talks Pet Sounds, Chuck Berry, Four Freshmen, exotica and more". Nuvo.
^ ^a ^b ^c Elliott, Brad (August 31, 1999). "Pet Sounds Track Notes". beachboysfanclub.com. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
^ Doe, Andrew G.: "GIGS65." Bellagio 10452. Retrieved on 2009-10-11.
^ "Pet Sounds Session List". Retrieved 18 May 2014.
^ Greene, Nick (June 20, 2017). "15 Fascinating Facts About Pet Sounds". Mental Floss. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
^ Wicks, Amanda (18 September 2017). "Listen to Brian Wilson's New Song "Run James Run" | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
^ Slowinski, Craig. "Pet Sounds LP". beachboysarchives.com. Endless Summer Quarterly. Retrieved September 24, 2018.